The Appreciation Sacrifice
by urban countrygirl
Summary: The day of days is there. No, not the wedding!


**I thought I'd run out of ideas for my favorite Pasadena power couple. But apparently, I was wrong. I hope you enjoy this short one-shot.**

Hundreds of nostrils slightly opening and closing while reducing the amount of oxygen and increasing the volume of carbon dioxide in the air. Hundreds of armpits slightly sweating under the layers of festive clothes. Hundreds of mouths and hands spreading potential harmful bacteria in his immediate surroundings. Hundreds of bodies increasing the temperature of the room by constantly absorbing approximately 100 Watt.

And still, he was calm and content. More so, he was happy. Very, very happy. Incredibly happy. Probably one of the happiest days of his life (although he didn't know what was yet to come, so he couldn't be that sure about it, in the end).

He was sitting there in the crowd, adding his part of carbon dioxide, a tiny bit of sweat and hopefully not a single bacteria to the mixture of human body odors in the room.

His right hand was clutching Amy's, that felt weak, cold and sticky, on his left side there was sitting Leonard, nervously playing with a bit of loose skin next to his index finger's nail, concentrated on not biting it, what would have been completely inadequate in this solemn moment. Penny's quiet throat clearing could be heard every other minute. Tension was high, anticipation as well.

They (him and Amy (and also Leonard and Penny. And Wolowitz and Bernadette. And Raj… and Stuart… and everyone they knew, in the end)) had been waiting for this moment for so long. It was a dream coming true. Sometimes, in very rare occasions, he had asked himself if his decision was correct. But then, again, he knew he had done the right thing. Only one of them could have been nominated for the Nobel price, even if President Siebert had promised different in the beginning. Thanks to the two incredibly lucky dumb idiots from Chicago. "You're the only reason I deserve one", he had said to Amy. Without Amy, this whole theory never would have been invented. Although he had done the major calculations, she had been the one that had had the breakthrough idea at the wedding, she was the one that gave a new life spark to their project, when it was almost dead, apparently proven wrong by the Russian science paper. They only could have done this, because they had been together. And since, they would have deserved to get the price together. But nominating only one person was the only chance for winning that they had. He had to do it, hadn't he? It was a big sacrifice for him, very big, not gonna lie. But worth it. Yes, it was worth it. He remembered the expression in Amy's face when she said that she only wanted him to be happy. He knew her enough now to know, that she wasn't completely honest with him. She wanted him to be happy, but deeply in her heart she hadn't thought that the solution he had suggested was fair. "A Neuroscientist? What is she even doing on the paper?" That remark from one of the Chicago's morons had hurt him deeply. Yes, she was a Neuroscientist, yet she was able to give a completely new twist to the world of physics. What a wonderful, incredibly smart und wise wife he had. He squeezed Amy's hand a little and she squeezed him back. Only some minutes left.

He thought back of the fortune teller, Penny had brought him to one night, many years ago. She had said something about committing to Amy, then his work-related problems would resolve, or something like that. He hadn't believed in what she had said, of course. But in some way, she should be proven right. Today had only come because he had finally committed to Amy. And the outcome was so much more than a work-related problem being resolved. It was everything one could hope for as a scientist.

He had decided to regard this Nobel price as theirs, his and Amy's. And Amy had done the same. They were a union, two halves of a whole. Something that his mother always had tried to teach him about marriage that he never had understood until some years ago, when Amy and him had become really, really close. Their conjoined Nobel, no matter, it was only given to one of them. Some years ago, they would have mocked each other about it, there probably even would have been real jealousy. Those times were gone. They knew now, how important the bond between Amy and him was and that it was much more important than winning a price, even if that price was the Nobel.

Suddenly, he sat up. The speaker, that had spoken Swedish all the time, a language, that was similar enough to English to comprehend a few words, but not enough to understand the meaning of a whole sentence, had switched to English and mentioned now the names of Drs. Pemberton and Campbell and then, and it seemed like an eternity to him, although it only took the tiniest part of a second, the most important name of the evening.

Amy turned to Sheldon when it was time for the winners to get up and receive the price out of the hands of the Swedish king. "I love you", she whispered, while their hands were slowly gliding apart. "I love you, too", Sheldon whispered back. Then, Amy got up and walked slowly and solemnly towards Carl XVI. Gustav.

 **Of course, I'd love to hear your opinions and I'm looking forward to your comments. But please don't spoil the ending for the other readers! :-) Thank you all so much!**


End file.
